3 March 2016
Labor’s nbn claims are becoming more desperate by the day as the roll out gathers pace and as Labor attempts to divert attention from having no nbn policy.
Labor’s latest claim, that the nbn has been misrepresenting the cost of fibre to the premises, is simply outrageous.
The Government has given nbn a mandate to find the fastest and most cost-effective way to complete the network, without prescribing the technology to be used.
The nbn is a $49 billion dollar infrastructure project, and Labor still doesn’t have an nbn policy, just a flaky promise for ‘more fibre’.
It’s no wonder the Australian Financial Review described Labor’s promise as “an expensive joke”.
Labor was out of its depth with the nbn in government, and appears not to have done the hard yards of policy development in opposition.
FOR BACKGROUND:
The company published its audited half-year results earlier this month showing FTTP is continuing to cost on average $4,419 per premises. In some cases, the cost of connecting a single premises this way can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, where there is a lot of civil work needed to get fibre all the way into the building.
The latest technology being tested is a version of fibre to the node using smaller boxes of electronics which can be placed underground.
Fibre to the node which includes placing electronics in cabinets, or in pits, or in the basement of buildings offers cost-effective solutions in a range of locations.
Labor’s record on the nbn
· Under Labor the NBN Co failed to meet every rollout target it set itself. For Labor to tell communities they would have had NBN sooner under them is simply wrong.
· The NBN under Labor was one of the most poorly managed projects in the history of the Commonwealth.
· The 2016 nbn Corporate Plan estimates that continuing with an all-fibre build to completion would require funding of between $74 billion and $84 billion, and could not be completed until at least 2026. That’s $30 billion more and six to eight years later than the current roll out.
· Under Labor, around $6.5 billion was spent to deliver broadband to less than 3 per cent of premises.